Geography of Israel:
The Etzion Bloc (Gush Etzion)

The Etzion Bloc ("Gush
Etzion" in Hebrew),
which today consists of 18 communities and
nearly 40,000 residents, is located between Jerusalem and Hebron.
Because of its strategic location, the Bloc
was heavily contested during Israel's War
of Independence in 1947
and 1948. Although the area was not granted
to Israel under the 1947 partition
plan, the commanders
of the Haganah considered
it an essential buffer against a southern
attack on Jerusalem.

In early 1927, a small group of immigrants
from Yemen,
along with a few ultra-Orthodox residents
of what was then Palestine,
established a community south of
Jerusalem named “Migdal Eder,” named after
a site mentioned in the Torah in Genesis 35:21.
The community failed to flourish due to constant economic
problems and tensions with the nearby Arab villages.
During the Arab riots of 1929, Migdal Eder was destroyed.
The residents were spared by the villagers of the neighboring
Palestinian community Beit Umar.

In 1930, the site of the former Migald
Eder was purchased by Shmuel Yosef Holtzman, who wanted
to establish a Jewish community in between Bethlehem and
Hebron. The word “holtz” in German
literally means “wood,” which is translated
into Hebrew as “etz,” so Holtzman named
the community Kfar Etzion after his own name. Again,
Arab riots, this time in 1936, demolished most of what
Holtzman had built, and the violence forced the inhabitants
out of the area. Jews finally did settle the area between
1943-1947, and established four small communities,
which were all subsequently destroyed during Israel’s
War of Independence.

At the outset of the conflicts in 1947, Gush
Etzion consisted of four settlements: Kfar Etzion (the first settlement
in the area, founded in 1943), Masuot Yitzhak, Ein Tzurim and Revadim.
On January 14, 1947, an army of more than 1,000 Arabs, led by Abdul-Khadr
Husseini, attacked the settlements. While the 450 settlers were able
to repulse the attackers, the settlements were devastated, in need of
reinforcements, and vulnerable to a future attack. The Haganah sent a platoon of 35 soldiers from Hartuv, led by Commander Danny Mass,
with medical supplies and ammunition. But reaching the Bloc proved difficult.
On their first attempt, the soldiers were detected by Arab forces, and
were forced to retreat. Before a second attempt could be fully organized,
Mass pushed ahead without orders, and proceeded towards the besieged
area.

While still on the way from Hartuv, the platoon was
detected by the Arabs. With no way to call for assistance, Mass led
his troops to the top of the highest hill in the area, and searched
for cover. But the 35 were unable to escape, and they were massacred
by hundreds of Arab militants. Their stripped, mutilated bodies were
found the next day by a British patrol, but were not sent to Jerusalem
because of a fear of retaliation.

Gush Etzion was again the center of conflict in May
of 1948, when, for a period of three days, residents of Kfar Etzion
were able to hold off a large Arab army headed for Jerusalem. Eventually,
despite surrendering to the Arab army, 240 residents of the kibbutz
were massacred, another 260 were captured, and the settlement was razed.

After Israel regained control of Jerusalem
and the surrounding areas in the West
Bank in June
1967, a new initiative was launched to resettle the
Etzion area. Several of the new residents of Kfar
Etzion were descendants of the people who fought
and died in 1948. Kfar Etzion was the first settlement
established in the West Bank after Israel’s victory
in the Six
Day War.

The population of Gush Etzion in 2004
was, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics,
approximately 44,000 residents, which includes the
3,300 residents living in the other six settlements
of the Gush Etzion regional council outside of the
main bloc.